Crawley boss John Yems livid Hartlepool hero Omar Bogle avoided red card

Posted Sunday, February 13, 2022 by PA

Crawley head coach John Yems had no doubt Hartlepool striker Omar Bogle should have been sent off well before he hit the decisive goal.

Bogle escaped with a booking for a foul on Jack Payne in the 13th minute and the incident so infuriated Yems he argued with referee Brett Huxtable on the final whistle and was shown a red card after first receiving a yellow.

Former Birmingham, Cardiff and Wigan forward Bogle clinched Pools’ first away league win for nearly four months with his second goal in two games five minutes before the break but Yems felt he should not have been on the park at that time.

He said: “The FA had better start looking into who they send to games because this one was totally incompetent and people can get hurt out there. It was a blatant sending-off.

“I don’t want to see any player sent off but in the street you would get nicked for that. Payne has a lump the size of a Mars bar on his leg.”

There were 11 minutes of added time after Crawley midfielder James Tilley was briefly knocked out after the ball was accidentally kicked in his face but Yems said later the player was “okay”.

Poor home form continues to handicap the Reds, who have one of the best away records in League Two, and Yems felt the display fell far below what he expects.

He added: “I pick the side, I send them out there and take total responsibility but we weren’t good enough.”

Bogle’s goal gave Hartlepool back-to-back league wins for the first time since October and it was their first away league goal since Boxing Day.

Boss Graeme Lee felt his men played better in the 3-1 home win over Barrow in midweek and said: “I am not happy with the performance but I will take 1-0 wins all day long.

“I want to see consistency and we didn’t start right. We scored a fantastic goal but I had a bit of a go at them at half-time. We lacked spark.

“We had to grind it out; it was all about the win. The performance was not fantastic and we were a bit reactive in the first half and didn’t hurt them as much as we could.

“It’s all about consistency and we were better on Tuesday. But we have sent the fans away with a smile on their face and it’s made the long journey home that bit easier.

“Bogle is a presence; a big strong man and he has now got two goals in two games. It was a great finish.”